Record wheat procurement in Punjab, Haryana

Chandigarh, May 12 (IANS) Wheat procurement in Punjab and Haryana has achieved a historic record this season. Both states have jointly procured over 17.6 million tonnes of wheat so far. The states have also created individual records in wheat procurement with Punjab procuring 10.80 million tonnes and Haryana procuring 6.84 million tonnes till Monday evening.

“What is even remarkable is that the wheat has been procured in less than one month this year. The procurement started around Baisakhi (April 13) and will continue till the end of this month,” a senior food and supplies official in Punjab told IANS here.

Farmers have already been paid over Rs.18,000 crore (Rs.180 billion) by both state governments. Punjab alone has paid over Rs.11,760 crore to farmers for the procurement.

The procurement is an all-time high in both states.

The Punjab government had set a target of procuring 10.05 million tonnes of wheat this year but that was surpassed in May first week itself.

The state had procured 10 million tonnes of wheat last year.

The wheat has been procured by five government agencies each in Punjab and Haryana and the centre’s Food Corp of India (FCI).

Punjab food and supplies officials said that 97 percent of wheat stocks had already been lifted from the state’s 1,547 procurement centres and grain markets for storage at warehouses.

Ferozepur district in Punjab (1.34 million tonnes) and Sirsa district in Haryana (949,000 tonnes) topped procurement in the respective states.

The arrival of 6.85 million tonnes of wheat in Haryana’s grain markets is not only a record for the state but 1.7 million tonnes more than the bumper crop of last year.